Suzy's Minis

 

  These bingo sheets were my first attempt in making printable minis.  I'm very happy how they looked once printed and cut. Right click and choose save as to save the full size image to your hard drive.

DIY Christmas Miniature Printables Christmas Ornament Box in 1:12 scale - By The Mouse Market Blog Gift Boxes and Santa Cards - From Paperish - So much awesome stuff here! Christmas Wallpaper  Christmas Mail and letters Retro Lights and boxes Wrapping paper! Package Cutouts Adorable boxes and presents   - From Doll Printies J Day Minis has some great gift wrap  Christmas Paper and Wallpaper  - From Jennifer's printables  Elf on the Shelf  Barbie Movie Inspired Elf Printable Kit  - I love this!!! Elf on the Shelf Printables   - Colouring sheets and accessories Barbie Barbie A Perfect Christmas Colouring Sheets Free Gingerbread House  - Cute house in Barbie scale More Barbie Coloring Pages

Do you have a fairy garden? I like to start one from scratch every spring.  I do reuse most of my items from the previous year though. This year I am doing one in a raised planter box.  Wildlife and weather are the two biggest "threats" to our little cities and villages. One year I was so happy with my fairy town done at the base of a huge tree. Sadly it also became a favourite spot for a neighbourhood raccoon to use as a rest room! Some birds like to flip little things over to get to the insects underneath and squirrels are just jerks and will trample over things like they are invisible. I have found that hanging an aluminum pie pan above the garden deters squirrels a little but they seem to have become used to it after just a week.  This year I'm trying a wood-chip base. So far it is keeping the weeds to a minimum. I like to let a few weeds through for some free natural greenery.  

 Hello May!!  I'm so happy you are here :)  I thought spring would never arrive! I've seen lots of postings for Spring Doll and Miniature Shows recently. If you know of one please send it my way and I will promote for FREE!! Please visit my facebook page for more current Canadian Doll show listings.  This one is in London, Ontario  I have some new lots in my eBay store Redwoodretro   Canada Post has finally partnered with eBay to offer much better shipping rates which is so long overdue.  I'm culling my Barbie accessories a little. I have way too many and .....well its Garage Sale season so I will be on the hunt for more lol. Doll people you know what I mean !! I have some really cute hats on auction as a lot right now and Barbie models them so well that I had to share a few.

Yay! It's April!  She is sure living up to her name here in SW Ontario, with plenty of showers so far.  Looking forward to the flowers they bring! So much negative stuff happening in the news-world these days, thankfully Barbie made some headlines this week and gave us something positive to look forward to. I know a movie won't fix the world but having something fun to look forward to always brightens my mood :) #TheBarbiemovie headshots were released last week giving us a glimpse of the characters and the amazing costumes. I have to say, Allan is my favourite. Perfect casting with Michael Cera and his shirt/costume is spot on. Also nice to see so many Canadians!! Have you tried the Barbie Selfie AI generator yet? I've had so much fun scrolling through Instagram looking at everyones creations. I hope Mattel keeps this going for a while so I can use it over and over. So much fun. These some of the ones I've done so far :) Moi!  My Mother :) I almost forgot to include the...

March is here already! Spring is close, although we have had back to back snowstorms in Southern Ontario. It has been pretty mild winter where I am so I really can't complain. Its going to be nice to get back out into the garden though.  My son and his family moved out last week so I am slowly putting my studio back together.  I had to pack all of my minis up out of toddlers reach. It is nice to start with an empty room and try to achieve an organized and well thought out workspace but I already have stuff all over the place!   I see all of these beautiful craft rooms and workshops on Instagram that are so neat and tidy and totally magazine worthy. I don't know one craft friend who has a totally clean workspace! My worktable is already crowded! I have started adding NEW SHOWS to the Miniature and Doll Show and Event Page. Check it out  Locally here in Ontario, the Miniaturists of Toronto have announced the date for their 2023 show. Saturday October 14th at The J...

Its already half-way through the month!!!!. This Christmas season seems to be approaching way too fast for me this year.  I'm not even done collecting the flower seeds from the garden yet or putting away the lawn furniture.  We haven't had much snow where I am yet and its actually been above seasonal temperature wise. I love the snow but I'll take this at the moment. Do you decorate your doll houses for the holidays? I haven't started my 1:12 scale yet but Barbie's place is all decked out. These candles are made with those little glass jars from Dollar Tree in the crafts area.  I dripped wax into them and stuck a piece of black wire. The label is washi tape

I have been making candy all week and will have a limited supply available this month  in my eBay store - Redwoodretro   

Doll and Miniature Artists, Bloggers, Designers and Stores I am in awe every time I browse the internet for minis, of the amazing creations and artists I come across. There are so many talented people in the miniature world. Please check out their work.   Instagram handles are listed where available. *If you are a Miniature Artist and would like to be listed here for free send me a message!  Updated Sept 2022 Dollhouse Fixer Upper - Author of the Doll Collectors Companion and the Crafter's Companion. @dollhousefixerupper  Vintage Barbie Photos -     Absolutely stunning Art photographs by Melissa.  @vintagebarbiephotos Blossom Friends  - Cute Tutorials, printables, links and more Magnolia Minis  Artist in 1:6 and 1:12 scale Her Mason jars are stunning! @magnolia.minis Minis By Karen    Melody Jane Dollhouses  - mail order store based in North Wales - Huge inventory! Stores These are stores that have an actual physical locat...

 Anyone else fed up with this heat lol? I find it hard to work on projects when its humid. I'm so ready for fall that I've started working on Halloween stuff.  I have been going through old newspaper clippings looking for vintage graphics I can use for my Miniature Curiosity shop. I haven't started it yet but Ive been collecting stuff over the summer to use in it.  One of the things I have been looking for at the second hand shops is the Wade figurines. They make such perfect statures and decor for both 1:12 and 1:6 scale minis.  Some can be worth money but most of them are common and I have already found doubles. I'm thinking of painting some of the extras.  I think the wade owls are my favourite and work well as modern Barbie decor I remember getting the nursery rhyme ones in the tea boxes when I was a kid.  I picked up a few already this summer that I am going to save for a Toy or Fairy garden scene.  If you collect these and are looking for a certa...

Exciting news - The MET show date has been announced. I really hope I can get to this one. Its been almost a decade since Ive been to a MET show. So many talent artists !! Click here for more Shows and Events

Happy Thursday! Almost the weekend yay! Throwback to a few summers ago when I made a little village in all the marigold planters.   I love putting minis in flower pots. They seem to last better in planters and pot than under trees.  The squirrels and birds knock things over to look for food and insects when I attempt stuff under trees. Last year a branch fell on my Fairy garden ( You can see the aftermath here lol ) Since then I have picked up a few more houses at Goodwill for my planters so spring better hurry up so I can start planting.  

When I was a teenager I worked at this rustic place called Cullen Country Barns. It was a craft /art store that was made out of old barns.  It also had antiques, food and a garden centre ( owned by the Cullen family who are Canadian famous for their Garden stores)   My mother worked there part time as well and we both taught classes on wreath making, ribbon roses and other 80's crafty stuff. To this day I always think of the barns when I hear the name "Dusty Rose"  -the most popular colour for decorating that year. This is also where I learned how to use polymer clay.  Fimo was fairly new to the Canadian craft scene and I had pretty much only seen it used in the miniature world for dishes and bread.  We got to use a certain amount of product to make sample displays so I remember being very excited to try the clays out.  I've  been wanting to do a craft room scene for my 1:6 dolls for a while and thought my old wooden crate would be the perfect bac...